Psalm 131

My heart is not lifted up.  Oh how honest the Psalmist is.  Sometimes my heart is not lifted up.  Whether by lifted up the Psalmist means that the heart is not happy or filled with joy, or whether it means that the heart isn ot given up to God, not uplifted, with praise to God.  Eitherr way the Psalmist is oh so honest.  Not happy, not filled with joy not up to praising God.  

I think we have all been there.   There are times. The stress of the day is too much.  The events of the week weigh heavy upon us.  Too much sorrow, too much pain, too much bear. We find ourselves surrounded by what seems to be an impenatrible darkness There are valleys through which we walk where we find it hard to lift up our hearts, or we find that our hearts can not be lifted, they are heavey within our chest.  We feel lost, we feel alone and praising God is far from within our grasp.  We can not, we are unable, perhaps we are even at a point where we will not.  We are just not there.

But we can rest in the Lord, we can be be nourished, protected,  taken care of.  The Lord, draws us close to his breast.  In our fear, in our sorrow, in our pain the Lord does not turn to us and say, "suck it up."  "deal with it"  The Lord does not berate us for our lack of faith, our lack of praise, does not see it as a failing.

Instead the Lord draws us up, holds us close, gives us what we need, like a mother responding to the shrill cries of an infant child, lovingly draws us close.  Held close, protected, we are able to be like a milk drunk child, filled, cared for, protected.  

We can hope in the Lord.  Even when we can not lift up our hearts, are unable to lift them up.  In our pain, in our sorrow, in our darknes, our hope can be found in the Lord.

Trust, rely, be nourished, protected and cared for. 

Let me hope in the Lord, trust in the Lord, be cared for, nourished.  Let me  be a milk drunk child resting contently on God's chest.